PM directs PML-N MNAs to ensure presence for smooth passage of budget

Annoyed with the thin attendance of lawmakers of ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the ongoing budget session of National Assembly, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday directed party members to ensure their presence during the session for smooth passage of the next fiscal year budget.
While chairing a thinly attended parliamentary party meeting, the Prime Minister was displeased over the absence of many members of the party. He directed the party Chief Whip Sheikh Aftab to ensure that the absentees are present in the ongoing session for passage of the budget and avoidance of embarrassing situation due to lack of quorum.
On Wednesday, the National Assembly session was adjourned after a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) pointed out lack of quorum in the House.
The PML-N sources said the meeting also discussed the situation arose out of the recent statement by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The sources further said the Prime Minister took PML-N lawmakers into confidence over the situation after Nawaz Sharif's statement on the Mumbai attacks, which opened a new debate in the country.
They added that the party members were also taken into confidence over the government's plan to table the Constitution (Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2017, aimed at introducing FATA reforms to mainstream the tribal areas, besides other administrative measures.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister hosted a breakfast for the parliamentary leaders of different parties and members of the National Assembly, which was boycotted by PTI and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad also remained absent.
Members of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) attended the breakfast, said the sources.
It was the Prime Minister's third parliamentary leaders' meeting since he announced implementation of FATA reforms before end of the PML-N government's tenure on May 31.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister Office after the meeting said that the participants offered Fateha for the departed soul of Raja Ali Baloch, a sitting MNA who died on Sunday last.
The meeting also prayed for early recovery of Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who was injured in an attack in Narowal.